I know a bunch of them now leading some divisions or branch offices.
It seemed to me that most people aren't 'serial entrepreneurs' they just heard of the success of SF tech founders, tried it at home, failed, marked it as something they weren't made for, went for a simpler job.
Also, some get a family and start to avoid risk.
I think founding a company helped my career, but not necessarily faster than working on a similar exec-level track for 2 years.
Reading this article was interesting to me. I really bristled at the descriptions of founder and employee, but exec feels comfortable. I really enjoy owning a set of responsibilities that's not redundant with anybody else in the organization, and I enjoy working on internal relationships in order to help everybody get their work done better ("politics").
Maybe at some point I'll found another company, because that pressure really does force you to confront the weakest parts of your professional skillset. I learned a ton about myself by doing it.